Some companies are replacing entry-level paid positions with unpaid internships.

Estimates suggest there are between 100,000 and 300,000 unpaid internships in Canada.

Under federal law, unpaid interns have no protections and are at risk of being exploited or abused.

THEREFORE we call upon Members of Parliament to support Bill C-636 The Intern Protection Act, which will extend workplace protections to all interns (paid or unpaid) under the federal labour code and set clear rules on the use of internships to prevent the exploitation of young Canadians.

ABOUT THE BILL

Under current federal law, many interns lack basic health and safety protections and have no limits on the numbers of hours they can be forced to work.

That’s why the NDP has introduced the Intern Protection Act.

The bill will extend health and safety protections to all interns, like the right to refuse dangerous work and freedom from sexual harassment and basic employment standards including right to time off and holidays.

Additionally the Intern Protection Act will introduce clear rules that will limit the use of unpaid internships and prevent the exploitation of young Canadians.

Students are graduating university with massive debts loads only to enter a job market where youth unemployment is nearly double the national rate. They deserve real action from the federal government to stop the ongoing misuse and abuse.

Tom Mulcair’s NDP is the only party pushing for tougher laws regulating unpaid internships.

The Canadian Intern Association has partnered with University of Victoria Masters of Public Administration students James Attfield and Isabelle Couture to address the gap in knowledge surrounding unpaid internships in Canada. They are undertaking a project to explore the state of unpaid internships and examine the experiences of interns. As part of this project, they have initiated a short survey to gain a better understanding of the effects of unpaid internships and who they affect. The researchers are also interested in hearing the first-hand accounts of interns and interviews will be conducted with interested individuals.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board has confirmed that interns who agree not to be paid may still be entitled to wages if the work they perform looks more than labour than training.

In Sandhu v Brar, Mr. Brar agreed to work as an unpaid co-op student for a computer services company. His work included installing software, answering telephones, and being instructed on how to build personal computers. After working almost 90 hours Mr. Brar filed a claim with the Ministry of Labour for unpaid wages. The Board found the training provided to Mr. Brar was not comparable to “vocational school training” to become a computer technician and that Mr. Brar was entitled to pay for his work.

This decision is certainly a step in the right direction for intern rights. It emphasizes that employers in Ontario cannot avoid paying minimum wage to interns who are performing work, even where that intern has expressly agreed to an unpaid position. To learn more about the law surrounding internships in Ontario visit our What is the Law? page.

Employment lawyers in Ontario are beginning to give intern issues some attention. Sean Bawden from Kelly Stantini LLP in Ottawa is encouraging employers of interns to seek legal advice. In response to the Sandhu v Brar case he notes that the “requirements for unpaid internships are strict and difficult to meet” (“Coop Student Owed Wages Despite Agreement“). The Buchanan Ontario Workplace Law Blog writes that after Sandhu v Brar “there could be interesting times ahead” since the majority of unpaid internships do not meet the criteria set out in the Employment Standards Act (“Growing Controversy over Unpaid Internships“).

If you are an intern that wants to file a claim for unpaid wages, visit our Claim Back Your Pay page or contact info@internassociation.ca.

A great paper discussing the importance of a single definition of the term ‘internship’ upon which all involved parties can agree upon, and the current defining criteria of an unpaid internship in the United States

The six guidelines for internships in Ontario’s Employment Standards Act were applied in Girex Bancorp Inc. v. Hsieh. Nav Bhandal from the Labour and Employment Law Group at Keyson Mason Ball, LLP provides a good summary of the case.